In the Dreamtime, there was a little orphaned boy, who lived with his relatives. They treated the Little Orphan Boy harshly and broke the rules that said children should always be looked after, treated kindly and never hurt or smacked.
The Little Orphan Boy was always hungry and thirsty because his relatives would not share their food or water with him. Only sometimes, would they throw him a scrap or two of food. Of course this was never enough and it would never fill the Little Orphan Boy's stomach. But his relatives did not seem to care at all. As he was so small and weak from constant hunger, the Little Orphan Boy's relatives always left him alone in the camp, as they did not think that he would survive for very long anyway.
One morning, as his relatives were busy gathering and hunting, the Little Orphan Boy got up from his bed and looked around the camp for some food and water. He was so hungry, he just had to eat something, so when he found some leftovers from the last meal, he ate them all. he also found a coolamon with some water in it and he drank that too, quenching his thirst. For the first time in a very long time, he felt better.
While he waited for his relatives to come back, the Little Orphan Boy realised that they would be very angry, and would punish him severely for eating their food and drinking their water. He decided to hide somewhere that his relatives would not find him. The Little Orphan Boy climbed into the highest tree he could find, and sat there in the fork of the tree, with his arms and legs wrapped around the tree trunk.
It was not long before the relatives worked out that it must have been the Little Orphan Boy, who had taken their food and water. They searched for him everywhere without any success, until one of the men looked up into the trees. There, way up high in the tallest tree, he spied the Little Orphan Boy.
The man climbed the tree and soon reached him. He smacked the Little Orphan Boy, then he shook the branch hard, with all his strength. The man shook the branch of the tree so hard, that the Little Orphan Boy lost his grip on the trunk, and fell down onto the hard ground. He did not move.
At this moment, the Great Spirits, who had been keeping an eye on the Little Orphan Boy, turned him onto a small, cuddly, furry creature, who climbed back up into the tree and sat there with his arms and legs wrapped securely around the tree trunk. As soon as the relatives saw what had happened, the man and all his relatives knew that they had been wrong. They made a promise never to treat another child badly again.
As for the small, cuddly, furry creature, the Great Spirits gave him his own special food, which no other animal ate. That way there would always be plenty of food for him, and he would never be hungry again. As he had always been thirsty, the Great Spirits said that he would not need to drink water anymore. That way, he could stay up high in the trees, well away from people, who might hurt him. He would also never be thirsty again.That is how the koala came to be.
Once you have read the story, you can use this document to complete a reading comprehension task. When you finish this task, please e-mail your answers to your Australian Partner Student, who will correct this for you!
The First Koala
The Little Orphan Boy was always hungry and thirsty because his relatives would not share their food or water with him. Only sometimes, would they throw him a scrap or two of food. Of course this was never enough and it would never fill the Little Orphan Boy's stomach. But his relatives did not seem to care at all. As he was so small and weak from constant hunger, the Little Orphan Boy's relatives always left him alone in the camp, as they did not think that he would survive for very long anyway.
One morning, as his relatives were busy gathering and hunting, the Little Orphan Boy got up from his bed and looked around the camp for some food and water. He was so hungry, he just had to eat something, so when he found some leftovers from the last meal, he ate them all. he also found a coolamon with some water in it and he drank that too, quenching his thirst. For the first time in a very long time, he felt better.
While he waited for his relatives to come back, the Little Orphan Boy realised that they would be very angry, and would punish him severely for eating their food and drinking their water. He decided to hide somewhere that his relatives would not find him. The Little Orphan Boy climbed into the highest tree he could find, and sat there in the fork of the tree, with his arms and legs wrapped around the tree trunk.
It was not long before the relatives worked out that it must have been the Little Orphan Boy, who had taken their food and water. They searched for him everywhere without any success, until one of the men looked up into the trees. There, way up high in the tallest tree, he spied the Little Orphan Boy.
The man climbed the tree and soon reached him. He smacked the Little Orphan Boy, then he shook the branch hard, with all his strength. The man shook the branch of the tree so hard, that the Little Orphan Boy lost his grip on the trunk, and fell down onto the hard ground. He did not move.
At this moment, the Great Spirits, who had been keeping an eye on the Little Orphan Boy, turned him onto a small, cuddly, furry creature, who climbed back up into the tree and sat there with his arms and legs wrapped securely around the tree trunk. As soon as the relatives saw what had happened, the man and all his relatives knew that they had been wrong. They made a promise never to treat another child badly again.
As for the small, cuddly, furry creature, the Great Spirits gave him his own special food, which no other animal ate. That way there would always be plenty of food for him, and he would never be hungry again. As he had always been thirsty, the Great Spirits said that he would not need to drink water anymore. That way, he could stay up high in the trees, well away from people, who might hurt him. He would also never be thirsty again.That is how the koala came to be.
Once you have read the story, you can use this document to complete a reading comprehension task. When you finish this task, please e-mail your answers to your Australian Partner Student, who will correct this for you!